American Airlines apologizes for accusing David Ryan Harris of trafficking biracial children

After falsely accusing David Ryan Harris of trafficking his children, American Airlines offers the singer-songwriter “a heartfelt apology.”

Last month, singer-songwriter David Ryan Harris was accused of human trafficking while on an American Airlines flight with his two biracial children. 

According to an Instagram post that Harris shared, he and his two sons were stopped by an airline employee and four police officers on Sept. 15 upon landing in Los Angeles. Following Harris’ social media posts about the incident, American Airlines reached out to the father directly, in addition to offering him 10,000 frequent flyer miles as a consolation, a statement he also shared on his Instagram page.

“​​To summarize our investigation … we and our flight attendant realized that our policies regarding suspected human trafficking were not followed, and through coaching and counseling … our flight attendant realizes that their interaction and observations did NOT meet the criteria that human trafficking was taking place,” said the airline in its statement to Harris.  “Our flight attendant in question wanted to make sure that you were aware that they sincerely offer a heartfelt apology to you and your family for their actions and the results that their actions generated.” 

Though Harris applauded American Airlines for not only reaching out but also conducting an investigation and potentially reviewing its policies, this is not the first time an incident like this has occurred. As theGrio previously reported in August, a white mother pursued legal action against Southwest Airlines after an employee accused her of trafficking her biracial child. 

When Mary MacCarthy and her daughter, Moira, were traveling for a family funeral, MacCarthy claims that a Southwest employee reported her to Denver police for possible human trafficking because of “the different color of her daughter’s skin from her own.”

While Southwest Airlines decided not comment on the MacCarthy incident, American Airlines shared an additional statement with People magazine addressing what happened to Harris and his family. 

“At American, the safety and security of our customers and team members are our top priorities,” said American Airlines in a statement, per People. “We strive to create a positive, welcoming environment for everyone who travels with us and apologize for any misunderstanding that may have occurred.”

Just as Harris shared the airline’s direct statement to him, he shared his final thoughts on the situation in the same Instagram post. 

“All I was looking for was an apology and/or an explanation of policy,” he wrote. “From the beginning, I didn’t (and still don’t) think that a slow or tentative response from a 7-year-old on an early morning flight should be enough criteria to have the authorities called. I’ve never begrudged the red flag, I’ve always begrudged the apparent lack of diligence on the part of the flight attendant.” 

“I still, very much think that non response from the airline smacks of corporate arrogance at worse and a gross undervaluing of customers at best,” Harris noted. “That I had to resort to shaming the airlines to get a response at all speaks to a general lack of a meaningful customer service apparatus.”

Throughout the entire situation, his biggest concerns were focused on the airlines’ policies about trafficking. In a series of videos posted about the incident, Harris shared his thoughts on how the situation was handled. Believing American Airlines’ staff should have more information before contacting law officials, Harris announced a plan to help implement change. 

“This has been a teachable moment for all involved,” he concluded. “I’ve chosen to move forward from this event in a meaningful way by starting a petition to implement mandatory ID checks for children traveling with parents. I think it would go a long way toward discouraging traffickers from using commercial air travel as a cover. I think it removes the onus from flight attendants to have to make determinations based on conjecture, no matter how well intentioned. If the issue of child trafficking is of importance to you, head over to davidryanharris.com and sign the change.org petition.” 

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